On the afternoon of the 23rd, the landscape changed dramatically as we exited the Namyongin (Wonsam) IC on the Sejong–Pocheon Expressway. The moment we entered the national highway, an endless line of dump trucks stretched ahead, construction vehicles shuttled nonstop between large trucks kicking up dust, and the quiet rural village of Wonsam-myeon in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, was transforming into a massive semiconductor city.
This is where the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster general industrial complex, being built by SK hynix, is taking shape. The total area is 4,153,502 square meters (about 1.26 million pyeong). That is 1.5 times the size of Yeouido, or roughly 600 soccer fields. It is the largest single industrial complex in Korea. The site will house four semiconductor fabrication facilities (fabs), a Central Utility Building (CUB), and various support infrastructure such as wastewater and reclaimed-water treatment facilities.
◇ 600 soccer fields, Korea's largest construction site… 17,000 people on site per day
Work is proceeding in two main sections. In the area for the first fab, the CUB, and the reclaimed-water treatment facility, structural work was in full swing. On the site where fabs 2–4 will be built, civil engineering continued to cut into hills and compact the ground.
The site could hardly be called a "road" yet. Most roads were unpaved, and we had to go up and down bumpy hills. Access was difficult without a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The dump truck tires going in and out of the site were as tall as a person. The rough-terrain equipment from Caterpillar in the United States carries roughly twice the load of ordinary vehicles and has excellent climbing capability.
An average of around 17,000 people move in and out of the site each day. There are more than 200 water-spray trucks deployed to reduce fugitive dust. The entire site resembled a single, enormous "construction city."
The first fab, being built at the northernmost end of the complex, is on track for completion in Feb. next year. Although the exact progress rate has not been disclosed, the adjacent CUB facility had already taken shape.
The first fab will be about 150 meters tall, the size of a 50-story apartment building. Because semiconductor production lines are sensitive to even minute vibrations, the building foundation must go down to 45 meters underground. Tens of thousands of piles have been driven for this.
Its structure is unprecedented. The first fab will house six clean rooms, and the building is designed with a "triple mezzanine" configuration. By placing two clean rooms on a single level to maximize space efficiency, the industry views it as a world-first attempt.
◇ Floor-area ratio raised, building the world's first triple-mezzanine fab
Regulatory easing lies behind the super-sized design. When Yongin City raised the floor-area ratio from 350% to 490%, SK hynix, which had initially considered a double mezzanine, was able to apply a triple-mezzanine design. As a result, the total investment scale expanded from the original 122 trillion won to as much as 600 trillion won. To this end, former Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il (now a preliminary candidate for Yongin mayor) reportedly visited the construction site once or twice every two months.
Administrative support also accelerated. Yongin City approved "partial completion" for some sections of the industrial complex. By processing completion first in areas where infrastructure was in place, corporations could proceed with title registration and financing. Observers said the investment timeline, previously stalled over concerns about project delays, has gained breathing room.
SK Group's full support continued. A handwritten message from SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won was displayed at the on-site information center. Visiting in Sept. 2023, Chey wrote, "I wish success for the Yongin semiconductor project, which is writing a new tradition and history of challenge and innovation."
Yongin City is also accelerating efforts to attract semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment companies, with Samsung Electronics' national industrial complex (Idong and Namsa-eup) and SK hynix's general industrial complex as its two pillars. Including the Korean subsidiaries of global equipment companies such as ASML, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron, 93 domestic and foreign corporations have moved in or are pushing to move in.
◇ From power and water to roads… Wonsam-myeon is turning into a "semiconductor city"
Infrastructure expansion is proceeding in parallel. The substation that will supply power through a roughly 6-kilometer tunnel-type power duct from the Sin Anseong substation has largely finished exterior work. Industrial water will be supplied from the Namhan River, 37 kilometers away, and residential water from the Yurim reservoir, 15 kilometers away.
The transportation network is improving quickly. It takes 10 minutes by car from the plant to the Namyongin IC and 30 minutes to the Gangdong IC in Seoul. Via the Yongin JC to the Yeongdong Expressway, it is also a 40-minute drive to the SK hynix plant in Icheon.
Efforts to coexist with the community are also continuing. SK hynix set up a free car wash for residents to prepare for construction dust, and it is turning a nearby stream into a park. Two zelkova trees on the construction site were also relocated and replanted elsewhere at residents' request.